# Masahiro Tanaka (athlete)
**Masahiro Tanaka** (田中将大, born 1988 in Itami, Japan) is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, nicknamed "Ma-Kun", who starred for the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), pitched seven seasons for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and later returned to Japan with Rakuten and the [Yomiuri Giants](https://www.edgepedia.org/yomiuri-giants).[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) • [2](https://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/11215114.html) He is best known for his splitter and for a 24-0, record-setting 2013 season that sent him to [Major League Baseball](https://www.edgepedia.org/major-league-baseball).[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1988, Itami, Japan; 6' 2", throws and bats right[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) |
| 2013 NPB season | 24-0 with one save and a 1.27 ERA (212.0 IP, 30 ER) and 183 strikeouts in 28 games (27 starts) with Rakuten; led NPB in wins and ERA, though his 24 victories did not set the NPB single-season record[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) • [18](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/11/japanese-pitching-phenom-masahiro-tanaka-receives-three-guinness-world-records-titles-53141) |
| Consecutive-win records | Guinness World Records for most consecutive games won by a pitcher (30), most consecutive regular-season games won (28), and most consecutive games won in a single regular season (24)[3](https://www.fccj.or.jp/sites/default/files/2021-03/04_April_2017.pdf) |
| Move to MLB | Acquired by the Yankees via the posting system from Rakuten on January 22, 2014, on a seven-year, $155 million contract[4](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/MLB%20Media%20Guides/Archives/2018%20Media%20Guides/2018_NYY_Media_Guide.pdf) • [5](https://time.com/6619/masahiro-tanaka-new-york-yankees/) |
| MLB career | 174 games, 78-46, 3.74 ERA, 1,054.1 innings, 991 strikeouts, 1.13 WHIP[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) |
| NPB career | Through 2026: 271 games, 126-76, 2.76 ERA, 1,891.1 innings, 1,650 strikeouts[2](https://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/11215114.html) |
| Postseason | 3.33 ERA in 10 postseason starts with the Yankees[6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) |
## Early life and high school
Tanaka attended Komazawa University Tomakomai High School in Hokkaido and began playing baseball in first grade as a catcher, not pitching until junior high school. Over his high school career (2004-06) he struck out 458 batters, surpassing [Daisuke Matsuzaka](https://www.edgepedia.org/daisuke-matsuzaka)'s previous national high school record of 423.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) As a junior in 2005 he threw a 93 mph pitch, the fastest by a non-senior in Koshien history, and his school sealed its second straight national championship; in one game he threw without even 24 hours' rest and never left the game.[7](https://www.mlb.com/news/masahiro-tanaka-strives-for-perfection)
## NPB career with Rakuten
On September 25, 2006, four NPB teams, the Nippon Ham Fighters, Orix Buffaloes, Yokohama BayStars, and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, selected Tanaka in the first round of the draft; Rakuten won the lottery for his negotiating rights and signed him on November 2, 2006, assigning uniform No. 18, the traditional number of a professional team's ace pitcher in Japan.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888)
His NPB seasons with Rakuten show a steady climb to dominance: an 11-7 rookie year in 2007 with a 3.82 ERA, a 15-6, 2.33 ERA season in 2009, and a 19-5, 1.27 ERA campaign in 2011 with 241 strikeouts against 27 walks in 226.1 innings.[2](https://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/11215114.html) He was named the Pacific League's outstanding rookie in 2007 and its most valuable player in 2013.[8](https://pacificleague.com/player/507060/stats)
**The 2013 season.** Tanaka went 24-0 with one save and a 1.27 ERA, leading NPB in both wins and ERA and setting an NPB record for the most consecutive games won by a pitcher in a single regular season.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) • [18](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/11/japanese-pitching-phenom-masahiro-tanaka-receives-three-guinness-world-records-titles-53141) He won his final 28 decisions across the 2012 and 2013 regular seasons, surpassing the marks of Kiyoshi Matsuda (1951-52) and Kazuhisa Inao (1957) for the longest streak in NPB history.[9](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/fa66z7icvyiakqdy2jdj.pdf) The streak produced three [Guinness World Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/guinness-world-records): 30 consecutive games won by a pitcher overall, 28 in regular-season play, and 24 in a single regular season.[3](https://www.fccj.or.jp/sites/default/files/2021-03/04_April_2017.pdf) In the Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants he went 1-1 with a 2.37 ERA in three games, and Rakuten earned its first title in franchise history, with Tanaka throwing the final pitches of Game 7 for a save.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888)
**International play.** Tanaka competed on Japan's national team at the 2008 Olympics, tossing 7.0 scoreless innings in three games, and pitched in the 2009 and 2013 World Baseball Classics, making eight appearances with a 2.89 ERA as Japan won the 2009 championship.[9](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/fa66z7icvyiakqdy2jdj.pdf)
## Move to the Yankees
The Yankees acquired Tanaka through the posting system, the transfer mechanism between NPB and MLB, on January 22, 2014.[4](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/MLB%20Media%20Guides/Archives/2018%20Media%20Guides/2018_NYY_Media_Guide.pdf) He signed a seven-year, $155 million contract, the highest for a player coming from NPB at the time.[5](https://time.com/6619/masahiro-tanaka-new-york-yankees/) • [6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) Before his debut he chartered a brand-new [Boeing 787 Dreamliner](https://www.edgepedia.org/boeing-787-dreamliner) from [Japan Airlines](https://www.edgepedia.org/japan-airlines), at a cost of $200,000, to fly himself and six other passengers from Japan to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport ahead of a snowstorm.[5](https://time.com/6619/masahiro-tanaka-new-york-yankees/)
His rookie season of 2014 was strong: a 13-5 record with a 2.77 ERA, his best MLB figure, an All-Star selection, and a fifth-place finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting.[6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) In 2016 he went 14-4 with a 3.07 ERA, third in the [American League](https://www.edgepedia.org/american-league) behind Aaron Sanchez (3.00) and [Justin Verlander](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-verlander) (3.04), and the second-lowest ERA by a qualifying Yankees pitcher since 1998.[10](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/zs8cuqmb3vzpmugjtqld.pdf) He was named to his second All-Star team in 2019, earning the win in the AL's 4-3 victory in [Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/cleveland) as an injury replacement for Marcus Stroman.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888)
## Pitching style
The splitter is the defining pitch of Tanaka's career. Baseball Prospectus analyst assessment of his arsenal identified the splitter, with arm-side run in addition to its trademark drop, as probably his best pitch, with the fastball arm action adding deception.[11](https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/22480/raising-aces-examining-masahiro-tanakas-mechanics/) Early in his Yankees tenure he generated 16 swings and misses on 45 splitters, a 35.56 percent whiff rate.[12](https://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-analysis-sabermetrics/2014/4/11/5599158/yankees-masahiro-tanaka-splitter-finger-pitchfx) Opposing hitters described the problem directly: "When he's got his good splitty going like that, it looks like a fastball, so there's not a whole lot we can do," said Athletics catcher [Stephen Vogt](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-vogt).[13](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-masahiro-tanaka-rediscovers-delivery-c232695312)
He worked as a three-pitch pitcher, mixing fastball, slider, and splitter. In 2018, per Brooks Baseball, he used the slider 33.7 percent of the time and the splitter 30.7 percent, relying on both more than ever before.[14](https://www.mlb.com/news/a-look-inside-masahiro-tanaka-s-mindset-c297679034) His breaker has been labeled a slider, though its velocity and trajectory suggest a curve, and its high-frequency use added to workload-related health concerns.[11](https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/22480/raising-aces-examining-masahiro-tanakas-mechanics/)
The splitter's effectiveness varied. In 2018 he said he was not getting as much depth on the pitch, which looked more like a two-seam fastball than his usual diving split, and he and pitching coach Larry Rothschild discussed changing the grip before an ugly start in Boston forced the issue.[15](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/masahiro-tanaka-rediscovered-his-splitter/) After two poor starts in 2017, Tanaka and Rothschild went back to his 2014 delivery, and he rebounded with 13 strikeouts over his next outing.[13](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-masahiro-tanaka-rediscovers-delivery-c232695312)
## Injuries
Mechanics and elbow health were recurring themes. Analysts identified a timing problem in his delivery of the kind seen in pitchers who overload the elbow and shoulder.[16](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2125457-for-masahiro-tanaka-injury-is-about-his-mechanics-not-his-splitter) In 2014 he suffered an elbow injury that often ends in [Tommy John](https://www.edgepedia.org/tommy-john) surgery, but he and the Yankees doctors chose rehabilitation without surgery.[6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) He pitched with a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, with each breaking pitch placing stress on the arm.[17](https://as.com/us/us/2017/06/08/mlb/1496950575_202473.html) He underwent minimally invasive elbow surgery after the 2016 season and again in 2020 before that season began.[6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) In 2020, his final Yankees year, he started late after suffering a concussion when hit in the head by a [Giancarlo Stanton](https://www.edgepedia.org/giancarlo-stanton) line drive during summer training.[6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html)
## Return to Japan
In January 2021 Tanaka left MLB after seven seasons and re-signed with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.[6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) His Yankees totals stood at 78-46 with a 3.74 ERA, averaging 8.5 strikeouts per nine innings, against a 3.33 ERA in 10 postseason starts.[1](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888) • [6](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html) Back in NPB he went 4-9 with a 3.01 ERA in 2021, 9-12 with a 3.31 ERA in 2022, and 7-11 with a 4.91 ERA in 2023, then made one start for Rakuten in 2024 before joining the Yomiuri Giants, for whom he pitched in 2025 and 2026.[2](https://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/11215114.html)
## References
1. [Masahiro Tanaka Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/player/masahiro-tanaka-547888)
2. [Tanaka, Masahiro (Yomiuri Giants), Nippon Professional Baseball Organization](https://npb.jp/bis/eng/players/11215114.html)
3. [Covering, Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, April 2017](https://www.fccj.or.jp/sites/default/files/2021-03/04_April_2017.pdf)
4. [Tanaka's Career Pitching Record, 2018 New York Yankees Media Guide](https://pressbox.athletics.com/Publications/MLB%20Media%20Guides/Archives/2018%20Media%20Guides/2018_NYY_Media_Guide.pdf)
5. [The Yankees' New Pitcher Rented a Boeing 787 to Fly From Japan, Time](https://time.com/6619/masahiro-tanaka-new-york-yankees/)
6. [Masahiro Tanaka continuará su carrera en Japón, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2021/01/28/mlb/1611860070_929401.html)
7. [Masahiro Tanaka strives for perfection, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/masahiro-tanaka-strives-for-perfection)
8. [田中将大｜個人成績｜パ・リーグ.com](https://pacificleague.com/player/507060/stats)
9. [MASAHIRO TANAKA, MLB press release PDF](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/fa66z7icvyiakqdy2jdj.pdf)
10. [2016 Yankees season notes, MLB press release PDF](https://img.mlbstatic.com/mlb-images/image/upload/mlb/zs8cuqmb3vzpmugjtqld.pdf)
11. [Raising Aces: Examining Masahiro Tanaka's Mechanics, Baseball Prospectus](https://www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article/22480/raising-aces-examining-masahiro-tanakas-mechanics/)
12. [What makes Tanaka's splitter nasty?, Pinstripe Alley](https://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-analysis-sabermetrics/2014/4/11/5599158/yankees-masahiro-tanaka-splitter-finger-pitchfx)
13. [Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka rediscovers delivery, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/yankees-masahiro-tanaka-rediscovers-delivery-c232695312)
14. [A look inside Masahiro Tanaka's mindset, MLB.com](https://www.mlb.com/news/a-look-inside-masahiro-tanaka-s-mindset-c297679034)
15. [Masahiro Tanaka Rediscovered His Splitter, FanGraphs](https://blogs.fangraphs.com/masahiro-tanaka-rediscovered-his-splitter/)
16. [For Masahiro Tanaka, Injury Is About His Mechanics, Not His Splitter, Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2125457-for-masahiro-tanaka-injury-is-about-his-mechanics-not-his-splitter)
17. [La clave para los Yankees se llama Masahiro Tanaka, AS](https://as.com/us/us/2017/06/08/mlb/1496950575_202473.html)
18. [Japanese pitching phenom Masahiro Tanaka receives three Guinness World Records titles](https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2013/11/japanese-pitching-phenom-masahiro-tanaka-receives-three-guinness-world-records-titles-53141)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Other team and ball sports › Baseball and related bat sports › Professional baseball in the Americas › MLB players and personnel biographies › Starting pitchers › Starters debuting 2000–2015*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 18, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license